Regarding What Matters
by luvsanime02
Summary: One-shot. Part of my Maturity 'verse. Takes place directly after Torn. Sasuke comes back.


**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. I'm making no profit off of this story.

**AN: **Rated T for references to a touchy subject matter. Set right after Torn. Note the genres. (Edited 12.2013)

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**Regarding What Matters** by luvsanime02

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Of all the people they could have chosen to be Sasuke's guard on these trips, he's still not sure if he lucked out or not. Hyuuga Hinata was mild-mannered, confident, and a competent kunoichi. All things considered, it could have been much, much worse. If anything, Hinata was unlikely to get offended when Sasuke didn't talk much during a journey.

He also suspected, though he certainly wasn't close enough to the current head of Hyuuga to ask, that Hinata was being similarly pressured by her father and council to find a suitable match and produce offspring herself, and therefore empathized with Sasuke's plight. Of course, this put into Sasuke's mind what actually bothered him about traveling alone with the heiress. He wasn't entirely sure her being posted as his 'guide' wasn't another matchmaking attempt.

That and, however sympathetic she was, Sasuke still had the feeling that she thought the whole exercise was amusing, watching perfectly coifed and charming young ladies act shy around him as though he was going to be drawn in by this rather than annoyed. These trips were a waste of time. Sasuke knew this, the Hyuuga heiress certainly knew this, and the council knew this too, however much they wished to ignore the truth.

This time though Sasuke was in a fouler mood than usual, and he was doing his best to pretend Hyuuga Hinata did not exist. Not that she seemed to blame him for his curtness. In fact, he hadn't seen one sidelong glance his way yet and they were nearly back to Konoha after a week away. She hadn't made one mention about their swift journey either. Not that it had made much of a difference. They were still arriving back the day they'd been scheduled to, even if it was a few hours early.

No, Sasuke had no doubt that Hinata was well-aware of how furious he really was and simply didn't see the need to aggravate him further by asking pointless questions. Even thinking about the timing of this summons caused his hands to involuntarily clench, and he had to expend considerable effort notto activate his Sharingan.

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When he'd returned, when Naruto had dragged him back to Konoha (or rather, Sasuke had carried Naruto's unconscious body past the gates), Sasuke had been prepared to be shunned. Actually, he'd been prepared to be tortured for information and executed after they harvested his Sharingan, but he'd been spoken for by Gaara of all people. The young Kazekage had stood in front of his equals and quietly but clearly informed the other Kage that, if Sasuke and Naruto had both returned and they were indeed responsible for Uchiha Madara's disappearance, then the Kazekage would leave Sasuke's fate in Naruto's hands. Even more surprising had been the Raikage, who had barely spared the energy to send him a contemptuous glance before announcing that Sasuke was Konoha's problem and that he wished Tsunade Hokage-sama good luck with him.

There had still been a debate, one long enough for Sakura to hear word of what had happened and enter the chambers despite not having the proper clearance. She had looked him straight in the eyes, told him that if he tried to leave again _she'd_ knock _him _out, and then set to work healing both his injuries and informing him that Naruto would be along as soon as he could escape his own ANBU guards. Sasuke had waited until she'd healed a particularly nasty cut along his left forearm, which had made moving the entire arm difficult at best, before he'd raised that arm to gently touch her right shoulder, surprising her into momentarily stopping.

"I'm not leaving," was all he had said, quietly, but it had been enough. Sakura had sat back on her heels and lifted her right arm to lay it across her eyes. That had done nothing to hide the small tremors running through her body, nor the tears dripping off of her chin and onto her medic pouch, but Sasuke hadn't said anything. She'd wiped her eyes not a minute later and continued to heal him.

Stating that Sasuke was the last descendent of an incredibly powerful kekkei genkai had been a truth the other Kage couldn't ignore, especially as the Kazekage had ignored the entire debate after saying his piece. The argument hadn't lasted long after that. Naruto, who had indeed shown up in almost no time at all and had sat down close enough to Sasuke that their arms had been touching, had told them all loudly to "Get lost." Sasuke and Sakura had let out twin sighs of exasperation that had startled everyone in the room but most especially the three of them.

In the end, Sasuke had been officially declared Konoha's problem and the others had left. The Hokage-sama had wasted no time in calling another meeting, this one with the council members and clan heads, and Sasuke still had no idea what all had been said in that one because he had been herded into a sealed room with several guards to wait for their decision.

What they had agreed upon had been expected, and yet not. Sasuke had been forbidden from taking on anything higher than a D-Rank mission until further notice. He'd also been told that he would have an interrogation session with Morino Ibiki and Yamanaka Inoichi, and that he was being placed under constant guard by several ANBU for the foreseeable future.

He'd expected both of those, even if Naruto and Sakura had, as his teammates, argued against the mission restriction. Tempers had flown when the council had acerbically pointed out that, in Naruto's case, for abandoning Konoha during a war and joining forces with a confirmed nuke-nin he would have been restricted to D-Rank missions anyways and was going to be tailed by guards himself. As such, he had no standing to argue about Sasuke's predicament at all.

Their announcement to Sakura, that she was a chuunin and therefore no longer part of a genin team had resulted in two smashed chairs and a cracked table. She had then calmly pointed out all the reasons why she should still be their team member, from being one of the only people who knew them both well enough that she would be able to keep an eye on them to the fact that, if the council didn't let her, she'd go on missions with them _anyways_. The Hokage herself, rubbing a finger along the bridge of her forehead, had agreed and told the council to _shut up_ because _she_ was Hokage, and as the leader of the village she was perfectly capable of deciding a three-man team by herself.

It had been their last demand, however, that had completely thrown Sasuke. The council had decreed, seeing as how much of the reason why they had not executed him on the spot had to do with him being the last Uchiha (apparently Madara disappearing had been enough cause for the council to ignore his very existence), that Sasuke meet regularly with certain eligible women in the future in order to obtain a suitable match.

Sasuke had, noticing both his teammates were temporarily struck stiff with disbelief, stated levelly into the silence that he'd rather be executed than whored out to random villagers. The Akimichi clan head had been the one to clarify that by 'meet regularly' they meant that he would attend official meetings, set up by the council, with ladies of sufficient standing to be the next Lady Uchiha.

The Hokage was quick to input that Sasuke was under no obligation to ever choose any of these women to marry, but that as the last Uchiha he had a duty to rebuild his clan. She had looked irritated on his behalf, but she had also said that as it was an order Sasuke didn't really have a choice. She had also gone on over his newly revived teammates' rather loud responses to this demand to mention that, as the council would want to be reasonably sure of his loyalties first, he had a few years before it even became an issue.

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Now it was almost four years later and Sasuke was never going to accept any of the council's choices, had even told them directly _why_ he would never accept a new Lady Uchiha, but this did nothing to stop them from arranging meeting after pointless meeting. They were irritating, and a waste of time he could be spending training or going on worthwhile missions - they had been allowed to accept B-Rank ones for a year now and he and Naruto had made chuunin six months ago, having finally been allowed to take the test again – instead of meeting with elegant young ladies who giggled softly behind fans and wore perfumes that usually stung the insides of Sasuke's nose.

This time though, Sasuke was furious. The timing really couldn't have been more disruptive. Sakura was only eight months pregnant, but Sasuke had an actual long-term mission scheduled for almost as soon as he got back. No matter if it would be an Uchiha or an Uzumaki the baby would still be theirs, and Sasuke really didn't want to miss his first child being born.

The thought made him run faster, and the two of them sped through Konoha's main gates a few minutes later. Hinata then turned to him, the first time they'd spoken that day. "I'll report to Hokage-sama, Sasuke-kun. I'm sure she can wait to hear from you until tomorrow."

Sasuke thought about this for a few seconds but almost immediately shook his head in the negative. "I'd rather get it over with," he replied to her slightly confused look. He didn't offer her thanks, but the mere fact that he'd explained his decision to her could be taken as such. Hinata was smart enough to pick up on this, and they started walking through the streets.

It was Hinata who stopped first. Sasuke had been busy putting together his report in his head, trying for something more succinct than 'Not acceptable.' Knowing the Hokage, she'd probably appreciate the effort.

Sasuke looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then turned to face her fully after seeing her worried expression. "Sasuke-kun, does that look odd to you?" she asked.

He turned in the direction she was facing. At first, he couldn't understand what she meant. There were no obvious signs of a battle or commotion in that direction. Then he saw it. There were too many people walking in their direction away from something else. No one was running, but every face looked disturbed, distraught, and people were whispering to each other timidly. Nodding his head vaguely, Sasuke took off in that direction, Hinata coming up to walk by his side.

They came upon a chuunin Sasuke wasn't familiar with using a water jutsu to wash away the last remnants of blood from the street. Some villagers were still milling around the site, murmuring in the background, but there were other ninja efficiently removing them from the area. Sasuke looked at the chuunin's face and for the first time in years a fission of something like terror ran through him. He hadn't seen someone's face look like that since he'd looked at his own in a mirror the day after his family was slaughtered.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked. His voice came out tight.

The chuunin looked over, saw Sasuke, and his face drained of what little blood was left. His jutsu failed, his concentration obviously broken, and Sasuke saw fear in his face. Even worse, underneath that was pity. "Hoheto-san?" Hinata questioned, and Sasuke vaguely registered that the chuunin was, in fact, one of the many Hyuuga. If possible, the chuunin looked even more distraught upon seeing the Hyuuga heiress there as well.

Still, his eyes on stayed on her for barely a second before they flicked back to Sasuke. Another look into the man's eyes and Sasuke was moving before he thought not to, running over buildings and through alleyways, running as fast as he could to Konoha Hospital. Even as he was running he knew, with a dread he'd felt only once before on the worst day of his life, that he was already too late to stop whatever had happened.

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He found Naruto in a lobby waiting, hunched forward with his arms wrapped tight around his legs and his head buried in his knees. His whole body was shaking, unconsciously rocking back and forth on the seat, but what hurt the most was the sound of him crying because Sasuke had never heard Naruto make that noise before but he recognized it just the same.

On his knees on the hospital floor, Sasuke grabbed Naruto under the shoulders and pulled him forward until his head was against Sasuke's chest. It took less than a second for Naruto's hands to switch from clutching his legs to grabbing hold of Sasuke's vest. He continued crying, loud sobs that shook them both, and Sasuke was so very terrified. He grabbed a fistful of Naruto's hair with his left hand while his right arm wrapped around Naruto's back.

It took several minutes before Sasuke understood that Naruto was speaking through the sobs, an endless litany of gasps. "I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't…"

Sasuke pressed his nose into Naruto's hair. He smelled blood. There was some sticking to Naruto's uniform. Still, he said nothing. Maybe if he said nothing, maybe if he didn't see anything, didn't ask, this time it could not be true. Maybe this time his family was still safe and whole. His arm tightened enough on Naruto's back that the other man choked and he stopped crying long enough to take in a short, sharp breath.

"Sakura-chan's being operated on. She'll live, but they're still trying to repair the-" It was a whisper, quieter than his heartbeat, and Sasuke almost didn't hear it. A little quieter, spoken to his throat, "They're trying to repair all the damage." And still Sasuke couldn't bring himself to speak, couldn't ask.

"She was attacked," Naruto continued, still crying, still shaking, and far, far braver than Sasuke could ever hope to be. "She was- Heattacked her, and she- _She's_ gone." Sasuke had to slide back on his heels as Naruto slid forward, collapsing on top of him, hands now loose and dangling beside Sasuke's legs as though he'd been cut loose from invisible threads. The shaking grew worse.

"She's gone, and she was going- She was- She _is_, but she's gone and she never even got to, never even got to _breathe_, and she's gone and it _hurts_." Naruto was keening. No, Naruto couldn't be because he was crying into Sasuke's shoulder now, hands grasping Sasuke's sides. No, Sasuke was the one keening, because Naruto wasn't talking about Sakura anymore. She. They'd had a _daughter_-

Rage. _Fury. _And Sasuke had almost forgotten what it felt like, the hatred chasing away all other thoughts and emotions until nothing was left but revenge, revenge, _revenge_, and he would _kill_ him. He would kill-

"Who?" he asked, and his voice was colder than ice, deeper than a crack in the ocean floor and just as impossible to reach.

"It doesn't-" Naruto started, and Sasuke felt the other man shiver violently from the sound of his voice and didn't care. "Sasuke," he murmured, "it doesn't- Sakura-chan already- He's _dead_. He's dead and what does it matter? What does it- It can't- It can't bring her back, so what does it _matter_?"

Fresh cries, though softer than before, and Sasuke couldn't handle this. If hewas already dead, if Sakura had already executed their revenge and was now being operated on and if he didn't have his daughter because someone _took her from him_, then what did it matter? Did anything matter?

Yes. His shoulders were shaking under a force not his own. His hand was fisted so tightly in blond hair that his knuckles were white. Fingers were digging into his ribs even through his vest. There was snot and blood all over his uniform.

"It's not your fault," he said, and Naruto sobbed harder. "It's not your fault for not being there," and he didn't know which one of them he was talking to but he said it anyway, over and over. He didn't know how long they sat there before Naruto was silent in a way Sasuke wasn't used to.

It took even longer for Sasuke to loosen his grip on Naruto's hair, though he didn't let go. He'd stopped talking. There wasn't anything left to say. Eventually, Naruto's hands let go of his vest and clasped together to rest against Sasuke's back. He felt a wet, shuddering, deep breath against his neck.

"Sakura-chan named her Uchiha Kumiko."

Sasuke felt his heart break. His vision went blurry as his throat closed up and he remembered a conversation from what seemed like three lifetimes ago. Beautiful Uchiha Mikoto sitting at the kitchen table looking laughingly at her son. _"You were such a beautiful baby that everyone thought you were a girl, you know. I was tempted to change your name to Kumiko-chan."_

Uchiha Sasuke cried. He sat on the floor of Konoha Hospital, clung to Naruto, and cried.


End file.
